Abstract

Objectives The objective of the present work was to study the impact of technological and social distraction on cautionary behaviours
and crossing times in pedestrians.

Methods Pedestrians were observed at 20 high-risk intersections during 1 of 3 randomly assigned time windows in 2012. Observers recorded
demographic and behavioural information, including use of a mobile device (talking on the phone, text messaging, or listening
to music). We examined the association between distraction and crossing behaviours, adjusting for age and gender. All multivariate
analyses were conducted with random effect logistic regression (binary outcomes) and random effect linear regression (continuous
outcomes), accounting for clustering by site.

Results Observers recorded crossing behaviours for 1102 pedestrians. Nearly one-third (29.8%) of all pedestrians performed a distracting
activity while crossing. Distractions included listening to music (11.2%), text messaging (7.3%) and using a handheld phone
(6.2%). Text messaging, mobile phone use and talking with a companion increased crossing time. Texting pedestrians took 1.87
additional seconds (18.0%) to cross the average intersection (3.4 lanes), compared to undistracted pedestrians. Texting pedestrians
were 3.9 times more likely than undistracted pedestrians to display at least 1 unsafe crossing behaviour (disobeying the lights,
crossing mid-intersection, or failing to look both ways). Pedestrians listening to music walked more than half a second (0.54)
faster across the average intersection than undistracted pedestrians.

Conclusions Distracting activity is common among pedestrians, even while crossing intersections. Technological and social distractions
increase crossing times, with text messaging associated with the highest risk. Our findings suggest the need for intervention
studies to reduce risk of pedestrian injury.